By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – New Orleans-based International Shipholding Corporation is moving its headquarters and railway operations to Mobile. The federal government probably will close a Louisiana shipping channel that's blamed for flooding after Hurricane Katrina. Company Chairman Erik Johnsen says the company could not find another site in Louisiana for their specialized rail-ferry service. Congress has authorized spending three-point-five million dollars for the U-S Army Corps of Engineers to close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet to deep draft shipping. Johnsen says 135 people at the corporate headquarters will be invited to move to Mobile with the company. The move probably will occur early next year.